Metro Retail eyes 12 new stores next year

METRO Retail Stores Group, Inc. plans to open 12 new stores next year to expand its nationwide presence.

“I think next year we will open about another dozen stores. However, we are not building as fast anymore because we are watching how things are evolving. We want to be able to identify certain target markets,” Metro Retail Chairperson Sherisa P. Nuesa told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Taguig City last week.

“These will be in the Visayas because the growth of the area is faster than in other regions. There’s also the familiarity of the people with the Metro brand,” she added.

Metro Retail currently has 70 stores across its network. It operates store formats such as Metro Supermarket, Metro Department Store, Super Metro Hypermarket, and Metro Value Mart.

Ms. Nuesa said some of the targeted areas for expansion include Negros, Cebu, and Leyte.

“These are more neighborhood stores, about 800 to 1,000 square meters, a little bit bigger than convenience stores because we want to offer more,” she said.

Arnold M. Leoncio, Metro Retail vice-president for business development and investor relations, said in a Viber message that the company has earmarked about P5 billion as its capital expenditure budget for next year.

A major portion of the P5 billion will be used for Metro Retail’s network expansion, he said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nuesa said that a large branch typically requires a P500-million investment.

“The lifestyle of the Filipino consumer has evolved, so we cannot use the same tactics. We revisit our expansion plans, looking at smaller formats. Then, we try to match the merchandising assortment accordingly,” she said.

For the first nine months, Metro Retail posted a 19.6% decline in its net income to P204.7 million from P254.57 million last year due to higher noncash charges with the company’s store expansion program.

Nine-month net sales rose by 3.9% to P27.56 billion, led by its food retail business. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave